THIS IS AMERICA (ADAMS, BERNSTEIN, GLASS, MONK) - WILHELM LATCHOUMIA / VANESSA WARNGER

The minimalist movement, which first appeared in the United States in the mid-1960s, was for a long time closely associated with the avant-garde, but over the years it has gained a much wider audience and established itself as a major milestone in contemporary music. Terry Riley, La Monte Young, Steve Reich and Philip Glass, all Americans, are regarded as its pioneers. While the minimalists have found an echo with wider audiences beyond that of classical music alone, their output has often been criticised by commentators who have judged their musical aims to be simplistic or superficial. A misunderstanding that Vanessa Wagner and Wilhem Latchoumia are keen to clear up.

Both are adventurous pianists, whose mastery ranges from mainstream repertory to contemporary music. They have been performing as a duo for ten years, but still have the same insatiable appetite for exploration. This is the first time they have teamed up for a two-piano recording, out of the urge to feel connected to our times.

The repertory on this album reflects the artists: resolutely anchored in the present, since this need for contemporary music is a constant with them. Their rapport and their subtly nuanced energy exert an immediate appeal, with the result that their concerts attract an unusual and very varied audience.

MEREDITH MONK (B. 1942)


Ellis Island 3’02


LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990)
SYMPHONIC DANCES FROM WEST SIDE STORY (TRANSCRIPTION: JOHN MUSTO)


Prologue 4’18
Somewhere 4’29
Mambo 2’19
Cha-Cha 1’02
Meeting Scene 0’41
Cool 0’38
Fugue 3’02
Rumble 2’01
Finale 2’27


PHILIP GLASS (B. 1937)
FOUR MOVEMENTS FOR TWO PIANOS


Movement 1 6’21
Movement 2 4’49
Movement 3 6’19
Movement 4 5’30


JOHN ADAMS (B. 1947)
HALLELUJAH JUNCTION


Movement 1 6’43
Movement 2 2’52
Movement 3 5’58